On May 8, Japan’s Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency (ATLA) announced that it had signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Turkey’s Secretariat of Defence Industries (SSB) with a view to establishing a working-level group to deepen joint collaboration on defense equipment.
The agreement was forged on May 6 during the first edition of the Japan-Turkey Defence Industry Cooperation Day, a matchmaking event attended by both officials and industry representatives held on the sidelines of the SAHA 2026 defense expo in Istanbul.[1]
The event marked the first formal defense industry initiative between Japan and Turkey, with the two countries set to step up cooperation in advanced technologies, to potentially include joint development and production of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).[2]
More than ten Japanese companies participated. Attendees included Terra Drone Corporation, a Tokyo-based firm active in Ukraine where it is working with local companies to advance cost-effective short and long-range interceptor drone systems.
On the Turkish side, around 30 companies participated, including leading drone producer Baykar.[3]
Baykar’s long-range Bayraktar TB2S is a potential candidate for the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force’s planned acquisition of five ”wide-area” UAVs, for which 11.1 billion yen (approx USD 70.3 million) has been allocated in Japan’s fiscal 2026 defense budget.[4]
Tokyo has been monitoring Baykar’s drones since at least last year, when the then-Minister of Defense Gen Nakatani visited Ankara to tour Turkish defense primes and establish initial arrangements for consultations between ATLA and SSB.
One notable outcome of this month’s Defence Industry Cooperation Day is that Japan’s private sector is now reportedly in talks with Turkish drone makers over potential acquisition, joint development, and production arrangements.[5]
For its part, Ankara is said to be pursuing the partnership as part of a defense industrial strategy entailing localized manufacturing and technology transfer agreements. Meanwhile, Turkish firms are seeking access to advanced Japanese technologies and components for their own defense systems.
Potential Areas for Japanese–Turkish Technology Cooperation
At the Japan-Turkey Defence Industry Cooperation Day, an ATLA official highlighted how Japan’s strengths lie in components, materials and communication systems.[6]
Turning to Japanese private-sector participants, Terra Drone has revealed that it is looking to expand its operations in the Middle East and is seeking partners to integrate its interceptor drones with systems capable of detecting and tracking drones.[7]
In this context, Terra Drone reportedly held initial talks with Aselsan, a major Turkish defense company.[8]
The potential relevance of Terra Drone’s talks is demonstrated by ASELSAN’s recent activities.
At SAHA 2026, the Turkish firm unveiled a range of new electronic-warfare and counter-drone systems intended to be incorporated into Turkey’s “Steel Dome” initiative, a multi-layered, integrated air-defense concept being developed using domestic technology.[9]
Although the other Japanese participants in the Defence Industry Day have not been publicly disclosed, it is also useful to examine the exhibitor list of the broader SAHA EXPO 2026 to identify Japanese firms that have technologies relevant for Turkish defense companies.
Outside of Terra Drone, Japanese exhibitors at SAHA 2026[10] are mainly developers of sensor instruments and camera systems, many of which could be relevant to Turkish drone developers.
One major exhibitor was Seiko Instruments Inc., the multinational watchmaker founded in 1881. The company also develops miniature ball bearings that can be used in a variety of industries, including precision small motors and drones. Notably for drone developers, some of Seiko’s bearings are designed to reduce vibration and noise in rotary systems.[11]
Another Japanese exhibitor with an international footprint is Photron Limited, a developer of high-speed digital cameras for slow motion analysis. The company’s systems are used for a range of aerospace and defense requirements, including analyzing projectiles , engine performance, and fuselage durability.[12]
The company’s camera systems, capable of capturing footage at 1000fps, have also been mounted on a drone to conduct slow-motion video analysis of an automobile crash test .[13]
Slow-motion camera footage of the Photron automobile crash test. Drone-mounted camera footage top left. (Photron, YouTube)
In December 2025, Photron also showcased AI-based recognition and tracking of captured video at the Landpower Forum in Japan, hosted by the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force .[14] This capability could be applicable to Turkish drone detection and tracking systems.
Finally, a SAHA 2026 exhibitor already involved in drone applications is Anritsu, a Japanese multinational corporation that provides test and measurement solutions for electronic warfare (EW) and avionics certifications.
For theJapanese market, Anritsu provides a range of measuring instruments to support drone flight safety. These include handheld radio frequency (RF) spectrum analyzers, WLAN test units for assessing signal strength and interference, and devices that can measure communication speeds between a drone and its base of operations.[15]
Such measurement instruments could plausibly support Turkish efforts to improve UAV communications reliability and interference resilience.,
Conclusion
This month’s inaugural Japan-Turkey Defence Industry Cooperation Day and the ATLA-SSB LOI signed during SAHA 2026 in Istanbul are important steps to deepening defense industrial collaboration between the two countries.
Based on details made public on initial contacts forged this month, drone development and co-production are likely to become key areas of cooperation.
This could eventually involve the integration of advanced Japanese technologies and components into Turkish drone systems.
Collaboration could equally entail localized production of Turkish-developed UAVs in Japan in pursuit of a market entry strategy similar to that of the United States’ Anduril Industries.
On the other hand, Turkey may consider procuring Japan’s growing line up of low-cost attritable drones to support the development of indigenous C-UAS systems in Ankara’s Steel Dome.
One potential candidate here is the AirKamuy 150, a fixed-wing cardboard drone that Japan’s Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi recently revealed is now being used by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Forces for target practice.[16]
To help facilitate such cooperation, however, a vitalnext step would be for Tokyo and Ankara to sign a Defense Equipment and Technology Transfer Agreement. Tokyo has already signed with 17 countries such agreements to facilitate joint development and production of defense equipment.
Notes:
**1 USD = 157.91 JPY
[1] ATLA, X Posts, May 8, 2026, ; https://x.com/atla_kouhou_jp/status/2052571294991081881.
[2] Ezgi Akin, “Turkey, Japan launch defense industry partnership with eye on drones”. May 7, 2026, https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/05/turkey-japan-launch-defense-industry-partnership-eye-drones.
[3] Sinan Tavsan, Thread on X, May 7, 2026, .
[4] Daisuke Sato, “Japan buys drones to replace Apache fleet”. Defence Blog, April 12, 2026, https://defence-blog.com/japan-buys-drones-to-replace-apache-fleet/.
[5] Sinan Tavsan, Thread on X, May 7, 2026, .
[6] Nikkei Shimbun, “日・トルコ、防衛装備品の協力加速で合意 企業がマッチング会” [Japan and Türkiye agree to accelerate cooperation on defense equipment, companies hold matching event], May 7, 2026, https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQOGR063080W6A500C2000000/.
[7] Sinan Tavsan, Thread on X, May 7, 2026, ; Nikkei Shimbun, “日・トルコ、防衛装備品の協力加速で合意 企業がマッチング会” [Japan and Türkiye agree to accelerate cooperation on defense equipment, companies hold matching event], May 7, 2026, https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQOGR063080W6A500C2000000/.
[8] Sinan Tavsan, Thread on X, May 7, 2026, .
[9] Tolga Yanik and Hikmet Faruk Baser, “Turkish defense company Aselsan debuts new counter-drone, electronic warfare systems at SAHA 2026”, May 6, 2026, https://www.aa.com.tr/en/science-technology/turkish-defense-company-aselsan-debuts-new-counter-drone-electronic-warfare-systems-at-saha-2026/3929185.
[10] For a full list of Japanese exhibitors at SAHA 2026, see: https://www.sahaexpo.com/en/exhibitors?search=&category=&country=87.
[11] Seiko Instruments GmbH, “Motion Devices”, https://seiko-instruments.de/motion-devices/.
[12] Photron, “Aerospace and Defense”, https://photron.com/aerospace-and-defense/.
[13] Photron, “自動車衝突試験｜正突 ドローン撮影” [Automable Crash Test – Frontal Impact Drone Footage], https://www.photron.co.jp/mitaiken/carcrashtest_drone/.
[14] Yoshihiro Inaba, “《レポート》第1回ランドパワー・フォーラム・イン・ジャパン 東京・水道橋で開催” [Report: The 1st Land Power Forum in Japan held in Suidobashi, Tokyo], December 20, 2025, https://j-defense.ikaros.jp/docs/mod/004409.html.
[15] Anritsu Corporation, “ドローンの社会実装に向けたアンリツの取り組み” [Anritsu’s efforts toward the social implementation of drones], https://dl.cdn-anritsu.com/anritsu-customersupport/ja-jp/news/drone_hakaruservice.pdf.
[16] Shinjiro Koizumi, Post on X, April 27, 2026, https://x.com/shinjirokoiz/status/2048735873550962809.
This article was originally posted on NSBT Japan, the first defense and security industry network in Japan. The publication provides the latest information on security business trends both within Japan and overseas. Asian Military Review began exchanging articles with NSBT Japan in April 2024.
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